Rheological and Kinetic Properties in Polycrystalline Icy Materials

Abstract

  Convection in icy outer shell and icy mantle has great influences on thermal evolution, internal dynamics, and survival of internal ocean in icy bodies. Rheological and kinetic properties in polycrystalline icy materials are key factors controlling the convective current in the interiors of icy bodies. It is indispensable to examine the grain-size sensitive flow law dominant at low stress conditions and kinetic processes affecting the grain-size evolution such as grain growth, dynamic recrystallization, and high-pressure transformation. Results of preliminary experiments on these properties are presented in this article.